This email came out from Central Minnesota Legal Services on July 6, 2010. Sarah died peacefully around 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning with family members present.  Over the weekend she was surrounded by family and friends.  Her husband said that although it was a hard time, he knows Sarah felt all the love and support around her and died peacefully.  The arrangements aren't quite finalized but there will probably be a visitation Thursday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a service Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud.  Please keep Sarah's husband Scott and their boys, Isaac, age 16, and Matt, age 13 in your thoughts and prayers.

We can be grateful for Sarah's life and her impact on legal  services, her clients and  her  community.  Sarah had a 20 year career as a legal aid lawyer in the St. Cloud area. From 1990 to 1999 she was a staff attorney with St. Cloud area Legal Services where she specialized in family law and social security law.  In 1999 she became the managing attorney for the St. Cloud office of Central Minnesota Legal Services where she managed the staff program and the Volunteer Attorney Program which serves  19 of the 21 counties served by CMLS.  CMLS has a strong Volunteer Attorney Program since it started in 1982.  But In the last five years or so,  under Sarah's leadership the VAP  team expanded our program  to offer mediation -- and it's the major mediation program for low income clients in the area, a debt clinic, legal advice clinics in Wright and Sherburne County and the involvement of more pro bono attorneys in community legal education seminars.

Sarah also led the development of a partnership with the Minnesota Justice Foundation to offer divorce clinics to pro se litigants so clients don't sit so long on office waiting lists.  This partnership utilizes students to help clients complete divorce forms with  volunteer lawyers hosting the clinics and providing answers to questions of clients. With all of these new offerings under Sarah's leadership, our program has maintained a high percentage of  volunteer attorneys providing full representation for clients'  In the last few years,   43 to 50 percent of our volunteer cases  have been extended service cases, even with all of the new opportunities for volunteer attorneys.  Sarah was  an active member of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged Committee and participated in  the development of several initiatives to encourage pro bono.  Sarah was also an active member of the Stearns/Benton Bar Association and its Family Law Section.

Sarah was passionate about advocating for people with disabilities and survivors of domestic violence and their children.  She chaired the on the Stearns County Family Violence and Sexual Assault Council and was a member of the Stearns County Crime Victims Assistance Program’s Advisory Council. She participated in the Children’s Justice Initiatives for Stearns County. She was a presenter for numerous trainings on domestic violence and represented many clients through Anna Marie’s  Alliance in St. Cloud, Pearl in Milaca and Hands of Hope in Todd/Morrison Counties.

Sarah was active in other community organizations.  Sarah participated in the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce through Central Minnesota Legal Services.  She was chair of the ReachUp Headstart Program, Chair of the Tri-Cap Board of directors (a three county community action program), a member of the School District 742 Community Education and Adult Basic Education Advisory Council.  Through Sarah's involvement with the local Stearns/Benton Bar Association and the Volunteer Attorney Program,  Sarah was approached by the Stearns  County Law Library Board about establishing a program to provide assistance to pro se litigants.  CMLS has had a contract for four years to provide these services through a staff attorney and  part-time paralegal.  The numbers served are amazing and the project has expanded access to the courts for many people in the St. Cloud area.

Sarah exemplified the St. Cloud legal aid standard of being involved in the local community as an integral part of your work as a legal aid lawyer. She will be missed.